Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I am at a loss as to how this relates to Deputy Varadkar's rather right wing suggestion that we should charge prisoners for their incarceration. To my mind Deputy Varadkar's proposal is rather loathsome because I believe any person with an understanding of our prison system could easily inform him that the people incarcerated in our prisons tend to be from very poor backgrounds. I do not believe that the principle of paying for one's punishment, which is popular in right wing circles in the United States, should be introduced to the Irish prison system.

I do not believe the issues Deputy Carey rightly raised could be addressed properly in our prison system were Deputy Varadkar's proposals to come to fruition. It is odd to hear Deputy Carey speaking out of genuine concern for prisoners in the context of his party colleague's loathsome proposal that seeks to take money from vulnerable people in prison.

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